Prosecutors in Bali have recommended the death sentence for one of the
alleged ringleaders of a group of nine Australians charged with heroin
smuggling. Life sentences have been sought for two other defendants, while
sentence demands will also be made against the remaining five this week.

All nine, being tried separately, are due to be sentenced within the next
four weeks. The three alleged organizers are widely expected to receive the
death penalty, while life sentences are expected for at least four the
remaining six.

The nine were arrested on April 17, 2005, accused of involvement in a plan
to smuggle more than 8.2 kilograms of heroin into Australia. Four of them,
dubbed "drug mules" by the Australian media, were apprehended at Ngurah Rai
International Airport with a total of nearly 8 kilograms of heroin strapped
to their bodies. The fifth, one of the alleged ringleaders, was arrested
while on a plane about to depart for Sydney. The other four were nabbed at
the Melasti Bungalows near Kuta Beach in Denpasar, where police found two
bags of heroin weighing more than 300 grams.

Chief prosecutor David Adji on Tuesday (24/1/06) told Denpasar District
Court that Myuran Sukumaran (24), who was arrested at the Melasti Bungalows,
deserved the death penalty because he was involved in leading the planned
heroin trafficking operation and had shown no remorse for actions.

"We ask the panel of judges presiding over this case to find the defendant
legitimately and convincingly guilty of the criminal action of exporting
Class 1 narcotics in an organized manner and without permission; and to hand
down the death sentence against the defendant," Adji was quoted as saying by
detikcom online news portal.

Sukumaran, a martial arts expert from Sydney, had been composed throughout
most of the hearing, but appeared startled and then momentarily dejected
after the interpreter informed him the prosecution had recommended the death
sentence.

With his shaved head and strong build, Sukumaran is an imposing figure.
Australian media reports have described him as "the enforcer" of the drug
operation.

At a separate hearing on Tuesday, Adji asked judges to give the life
sentence to Michael William Czugaj (20) of Brisbane for his role as a
courier in the operation. He said Czugaj should be spared the death penalty
because the defendant had been cooperative, showed remorse for his actions
and was still young.

On Monday, prosecutors also recommended the life sentence for Scott Anthony
Rush (20), another of the four couriers arrested at the airport.

Adji said Sukumaran received the maximum sentence demand because he had
given obstructive statements that hindered the course of his trial, so there
were no grounds for leniency. The prosecutor also said Sukumaran had
arranged funds, hotel bookings and directions for the four couriers: Czugaj,
Rush, Renae Lawrence and Martin Eric Stephens.

After the hearing, Adji said it was the first time he had recommended the
death penalty. Executions are carried out in Indonesia by firing squad.

The death penalty is expected to be sought for Sukumaran’s two alleged
partners: Andrew Chan (21) from Sydney and Tan Duc Than Nguyen (23) from
Brisbane.

If judges agree with the demands, Sukumaran, Chan and Nguyen will become the
first Australians to be sentenced to death by an Indonesian court. The court
has heard that Chan was the financier of the operation and that Nguyen
recruited couriers Czugaj and Scott.

The two remaining couriers, Lawrence (28) and Stephens (29), will hear their
sentence demands on Wednesday, as well as three of the four arrested at the
Melasti Bungalows: Nguyen, Matthew James Norman (19) and Si Yi Chen (23).
Chan's sentence demand will be made Thursday.

Adji said Sukumaran and Chan had strapped heroin to four of the couriers’
bodies and threatened them not to pull out of the operation. The mules have
testified that Sukumaran and Chan threatened to kill them and their families
if they refused to take the heroin to Sydney.

Sukumaran's lawyer Mohamad Rifan complained that Australian Federal Police
had tipped off Indonesian authorities to the presence of the nine. "One of
the reasons my client is being charged with the death penalty is the letter
from the Australian Federal Police. The AFP should be proud with an
Australian citizen being charged in Bali because of their letter," he was
quoted as saying by The Sydney Morning Herald.

The prosecution had focused too heavily on evidence presented against
Sukumaran by the four couriers, whose statements should have been
inadmissible, said Rifan. "This is not strong grounds for a death sentence
request," he was quoted as saying by The Australian daily. He further
claimed he had not had enough time to present his defense.

Czugaj's lawyer Fransiskus Passar said the life imprisonment demand for his
client was "too heavy" so he would ask judges to hand down "a minimal
sentence" when the trial resumes on February 7.

Australia, which opposes capital punishment, has said it would protest if
any of the nine receive death sentences. Attorney General Abdul Rahman Saleh
is therefore authorizing the sentence demands due to the sensitivity of the
cases.

Foreign Affairs Minister Hassan Wirajuda has acknowledged that any death
sentences are likely to spark a public outcry in Australia. But he said the
verdicts are unlikely to hurt bilateral relations because the Australian
government understands that the trials are a domestic affair of Indonesia.

In Canberra, Australian Prime Minister John Howard said he would not take
any kind of action until the verdicts have been handed down. "I don’t think
anything is served by me giving a serial reaction to each decision. If there
is anything that can be properly put to the relevant authorities by the
Australian government after the sentencing procedures have been exhausted
then that will occur. I am simply not going to respond in a commentary like
fashion on each and every decision. That is not helpful, it is not
sufficiently respectful towards the Indonesian justice system," he said.

The four mules had tried to sue the AFP, claiming the police’s tip-off to
Indonesian authorities breached Australian law because it exposed them to
the death penalty to which Australia is opposed. But the Australian Federal
Court this week dismissed their application to access AFP documents to see
if they had grounds to launch a court challenge. The court said the
challenge was purely speculative and had no prospects of success.

Meager Support

Although many Australians vociferously opposed last year’s jailing of
Australian woman Schapelle Corby for marijuana trafficking, there has been
noticeably less support for the Bali Nine.

One of the groups supporting the Bali Nine is the Network Against
Prohibition (NAP), which describes itself as a drug law-reform organization.
Also offering support is the Foreign Prisoner Support Service.

An online petition for the Bali Nine has so far attracted fewer than 100
virtual signatures (as of January 24), with comments being a mixture of
support, derision and abuse.

One Australian satirical publication has produced a spoof article describing
the Bali Nine and other Australians arrested in Indonesia as contestants on
a television reality show.

Only 4 Executions For Drugs, So Far

Indonesia has officially executed only four people for drug-related offenses
although many others – mostly foreigners – are now on death row for
narcotics crimes.

Malaysian national Chan Ting Chong alias Steven Chong was executed in 1995,
almost 10 years after he was sentenced to death in 1986 by West Jakarta
District Court for heroin possession.

Indian citizen Ayodhya Prasad Chaubey (66) was executed in August 2004 after
being sentenced to death in 1994 by Medan District Court, North Sumatra, for
heroin smuggling.

Thai nationals Saelow Praseart (62) and Namsong Sirilak (32) were executed
in October 2004 after being sentenced to death in 1994 by Medan District
Court for heroin smuggling.

Critics complain that Indonesia's notoriously corrupt courts have failed to
mete out similar harsh justice to members of the security forces allegedly
involved in narcotics trafficking. There are also complaints that children
of powerful military officers and politicians are rarely punished, let alone
put to death, for drug offenses.

Indonesia is among 90 countries that impose the death penalty, but data from
Amnesty International shows that most of the world's executions are carried
out by only a handful of countries: China, Iran, Saudi Arabia and the US.

Prisoners sentenced to death by civilian or military courts have the right to appeal to a higher court and then the Supreme Court. A request for presidential clemency can be made immediately after the initial sentence, but is usually made only if courts of appeal uphold the death sentence.